system requirements

Darkknighttt said:
poseyjmac is this the motherboard your talking about:
ABIT "NF7" nForce2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL
Click to expand...

yes thats it.
 
Ashbery76 said:
You want a XP3200(2.2ghz)+ if you plan to get the new X800 or Nvidia cards, lower CPU's will bottleneck these cards.
Click to expand...

Even an XP3200 will cause a significant bottleneck.

If you have to, get an xp-m. Cheaper than a XP3200 and will run much faster.
 
he doesn't want to overclock..

anyway, its not like you need a 4ghz cpu to get good performance out of an x800.helps, but not totally necessary.
 
poseyjmac said:
he doesn't want to overclock..
Click to expand...

ah.

Well - in this case it isn't really overclocking ;) (I know it is really - but it's idiot, and risk, proof)

XP3200 and an XP-M 2500 are both Bartons, just one runs much faster than the other - and is cheaper.
 
p4 2.4
1024gbs ram
240gbs hard drive
radeon 9800 pro 128mbs

What will i be able to run my settins on?
 
Warbie said:
Even an XP3200 will cause a significant bottleneck.

If you have to, get an xp-m. Cheaper than a XP3200 and will run much faster.
Click to expand...


huh?!?!?!? i thought that an xp3200 is as good as a P4 @ 3.2 GHZ?! isnt that more than enough to run an x800/9800XT?! because im probably going to get that one.
 
it says on www.newegg.com, that the operating frequency is 2.2 GHZ for the athlon 3200( the one im probably gonna get) is this what it's speed it, but when compared to pentium processors its so much faster in other things it gets the P4 3.2 GHZ equivalent?!
 
pay no attention to the actual clock speed. they call it the 3200+ for a reason. it compares to the p4 3.2 as a cpu. but in some tests it can be faster, but also the p4 can be faster in other tests. look up reviews if you want the specifics, but as for games, AMD does extremely well.
 
Okay thanks im just asking so many questions because I bought a new computer about a year ago from dell and it was $1600.00 and itwas a rip off it was p4 at 1.80 ghz 256 mb ram and nvidia geforce 4 mx. im just making sure that i know what its compared to and everything because i want it to last a long time. i cant be getting a new computer every year and i wanna make sure it can run the latest games and everything and i jsut want the best possible hl2 experience ever.

So i guess im set then with:
Athlon 3200
Abit NF7 motherboard
512 or 768 MB RAM
either 9800 pro,xt,or x800

so I will be able to run the game at max settings and pretty good fps with this new machine?!

EDIT: is this what the athlon 3200 is called: AMD Athlon XP 3200+ "Barton", 400MHz FSB, 512K Cache Processor
 
I think an xp3200 is more on par with a 2.8 intel.

(my xp-m runs fine at 2.5 too shapeshifter ........ is stable at 1.6 but i'm not happy with a voltage above 1.85 :) Best 65 pounds I ever spent)
 
poseyjmac, were you reccomending me to get the xp3200, or the 64 3200. and which ones better?!
 
Darkknighttt said:
huh?!?!?!? i thought that an xp3200 is as good as a P4 @ 3.2 GHZ?! isnt that more than enough to run an x800/9800XT?! because im probably going to get that one.
Click to expand...

The X800 is so fast that the CPU (for the first time in a long time) becomes the bottleneck. That means unless you have a Athlon 64 3000+ or greater, you CPU will be the bottleneck in your system.

I have a Athlon XP 2800 + and I am sure that it will be the bottleneck for the X800. See Link. In my case, buying a 9800XT seems to be a better choice, unless I run it a very high resolutions or use AA or AF.
 
Darkknighttt said:
poseyjmac, were you reccomending me to get the xp3200, or the 64 3200. and which ones better?!
Click to expand...

a64 is better, but i wasn't recommending it to you, unless you want to pay more money. a regular 3200 is very good

edit: i just pasted that link because it has a regular 3200+ to compare
 
so ur saying that the regular 3200 will be good enough to run the 9800 xt and x800?
 
2.67
512
96 XT.

Not gonna look for the best machine ever, as expenses are extremely high. Just gonna upgrade my vid card so I have DX9 effects and smooth gameplay. I'd advise for you to do likewise unless you have the money to spend on a new machine.
 
a pentium 3 700mhz is good enough to run the x800, but not well.

a 3200 a64 is ideal for the x800, but that doesnt' mean a regular 3200 will do horribly with it, you just will get more frames with the x800 + a64. its just scalable thats all. check out this if you want some real numbers:

http://firingsquad.com/hardware/x800_pro_athlon_xp/page2.asp

and go through the pages.
 
Darkknighttt said:
so ur saying that the regular 3200 will be good enough to run the 9800 xt and x800?
Click to expand...

It'll run them fine m8 - although the cpu will be a slight bottleneck with a X800 (although a X800 with this cpu will still be better than a 9800)
 
okay and one more question. I'm going to get some more RAM. does it have to be the same kind of ram DDR, SDR,(or whatever. dont know much about RAM.) or can it be any kind of RAM. if it has to be the same kind of RAM, can someone tell me where i can find what kind of RAM i have?!
 
newer motherboards dont take SDR ram anymore. you will want some ddr ram. you can buy namebrand or generic stuff. some good brands include corsair, mushkin, geil, kingston.. for those that dont overclock, generic ram aint bad at all.

if you are getting the 3200+ 400 fsb CPU. you will want some pc3200 ram at least(which is rated for 400 fsb) might even want to get some pc3500 just in case. i would say more but i have to go. hopefully someone will chime in here. later
 
If you're getting an XP3200 some PC3200 will do you fine (as you're not planning on overclocking anything faster isn't really needed)

If possible get a gig - I know it's quite expensive. You'll need atleast 512.
 
My current computer is:
AMD Athlon 1800+ 1.53GHz
GeForce 4 MX440 128 MB
768 MB DDR RAM

I have about $300 to spend on upgrades. What should I get?
 
disruptioN_ said:
My current computer is:
AMD Athlon 1800+ 1.53GHz
GeForce 4 MX440 128 MB
768 MB DDR RAM

I have about $300 to spend on upgrades. What should I get?
Click to expand...

I'd personally get a new gfx card - a 9800 pro is a good choice and great value for money (what power supply do you have?).

Then, if possible, start to save up for a new mobo, cpu and memory to get somewhere down the line. But right now a new gfx card is a must.
 
first of all how do i find out what kind of memory i have? second of all, what does power supply do? does the video card depend on the power supply? and where can i find out how much power supply i have.(please God let me have enough power for all the things im buying.)
 
Ownzed said:
p4 2.4
1024gbs ram
240gbs hard drive
radeon 9800 pro 128mbs

What will i be able to run my settins on?
Click to expand...
WHAT WILL MY SETTINGS BE!!?? :dozey:
 
Darkknighttt said:
first of all how do i find out what kind of memory i have? second of all, what does power supply do? does the video card depend on the power supply? and where can i find out how much power supply i have.(please God let me have enough power for all the things im buying.)
Click to expand...


The exact type of memory that you have is usually listed on a sticker attached to your ram. The power supply's power is measured in Watts, which is listed on the power supply itself in your case (It's really hard to miss, it's on the top left hand corner of most cases). Crack your case open and look. If you bought it from a manufacturer, all of the specs are probably listed in the manuals they provided you with.
 
if you are upgrading your cpu, m/b, the works, then it might be wise to consider getting a good quality powersupply. ive been lucky getting generic PS's in my computer career and ive had no problems(i did check to see if others had good results with them though on the web)however there are some horror stories of people's generic PS's dying and frying their m/b, cpu video card, sometimes all, sometimes just one. kinda scary. next PS i get is going to be a fortron. very reliable and stable.
 
poseyjmac said:
newer motherboards dont take SDR ram anymore. you will want some ddr ram. you can buy namebrand or generic stuff. some good brands include corsair, mushkin, geil, kingston.. for those that dont overclock, generic ram aint bad at all.

if you are getting the 3200+ 400 fsb CPU. you will want some pc3200 ram at least(which is rated for 400 fsb) might even want to get some pc3500 just in case. i would say more but i have to go. hopefully someone will chime in here. later
Click to expand...


poseyjmac, is this ram good enough? http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...d=10486&logon=&langid=EN&dept=18&WLBS=fsweb15

EDIT: I already have 256 MB of uknown RAM so it should be good enough.

EDIT#2: HOW can i find out what kind of RAM i have?!
 
Okay long post here:

first of all im upgrading my computer with the following things:

the prices beside them are candian prices( live in canada.)

CPU= Athlon XP3200 400MHzFSB, Price= $302.00(CDN)
Motherboard= ABIT NF7-S nVIDIA nFORCE2, Price= 133.00(CDN)
RAM= 512MB PC3200 DDR400 Of Kingston Memory, Price= $149.00(CDN)+ 256 MB OF RAM I ALREADY HAVE WHICH = 768 MB RAM TOTAL.

VIDEO CARD= RADEON 9800 Pro @ 128 MB= Price: $323.00

GRAND TOTAL NOT INCLUDING THE VIDEO CARD AND EXTRA RAM I ALREADY HAVE= $584.00.

Yeah i know its a little overpricy, but what are you gonna do. all the other stores are around the same price.

My question is: is this CPU,RAM,AND VIDEO CARD a good combo? because i really dont have enough money for it but im going to spend it anyway, so i really want to know what settings ill be able to play it on(resolution and detail.) AND WHAT FPS ITLL BE AT! Also will these things be good for future games (EG: UNREAL 3 Engine) or will i have to upgrade then?

Thanks.

EDIT: When I say what settings will i be able to play it on i mean the game settings in HL2. obviously.
 
Darkknighttt said:
Okay long post here:

first of all im upgrading my computer with the following things:

the prices beside them are candian prices( live in canada.)

CPU= Athlon XP3200 400MHzFSB, Price= $302.00(CDN)
Motherboard= ABIT NF7-S nVIDIA nFORCE2, Price= 133.00(CDN)
RAM= 512MB PC3200 DDR400 Of Kingston Memory, Price= $149.00(CDN)+ 256 MB OF RAM I ALREADY HAVE WHICH = 768 MB RAM TOTAL.

VIDEO CARD= RADEON 9800 Pro @ 128 MB= Price: $323.00

GRAND TOTAL NOT INCLUDING THE VIDEO CARD AND EXTRA RAM I ALREADY HAVE= $584.00.

Yeah i know its a little overpricy, but what are you gonna do. all the other stores are around the same price.

My question is: is this CPU,RAM,AND VIDEO CARD a good combo? because i really dont have enough money for it but im going to spend it anyway, so i really want to know what settings ill be able to play it on(resolution and detail.) Also will these things be good for future games (EG: UNREAL 3 Engine) or will i have to upgrade then?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

That'll be a pretty decent setup :) Personally i'd pay extra (or save for a while) and get an A64 - it'll last you longer, and probably save you money in the long run. What power supply do you have? You'll want at least a 350W PSU imo (again, it'd save you money to buy a good one. You don't want to buy a new power supply everytime you upgrade - so get a 480-550 if you can afford it)

The components you've listed will be able to play HL2 fine. Untill the game is released we won't exactly what settings you'll be able to use (i'd guess high settings with 1024*768 ........ of course this is subjective - and depends on how many FPS u deem as playable) Unreal 3 is a very different story - and will probably be a slide show with those components (and everyone elses lol)

Don't worry about that tho - there's Doom 3, Stalker etc etc coming out soon.

(btw - what is the 256 stick of ram you have already? if it's not pc3200 it's a bad plan to use it)
 
Darkknighttt said:
Okay long post here:

first of all im upgrading my computer with the following things:

the prices beside them are candian prices( live in canada.)

CPU= Athlon XP3200 400MHzFSB, Price= $302.00(CDN)
Motherboard= ABIT NF7-S nVIDIA nFORCE2, Price= 133.00(CDN)
RAM= 512MB PC3200 DDR400 Of Kingston Memory, Price= $149.00(CDN)+ 256 MB OF RAM I ALREADY HAVE WHICH = 768 MB RAM TOTAL.

VIDEO CARD= RADEON 9800 Pro @ 128 MB= Price: $323.00

GRAND TOTAL NOT INCLUDING THE VIDEO CARD AND EXTRA RAM I ALREADY HAVE= $584.00.

Yeah i know its a little overpricy, but what are you gonna do. all the other stores are around the same price.

My question is: is this CPU,RAM,AND VIDEO CARD a good combo? because i really dont have enough money for it but im going to spend it anyway, so i really want to know what settings ill be able to play it on(resolution and detail.) AND WHAT FPS ITLL BE AT! Also will these things be good for future games (EG: UNREAL 3 Engine) or will i have to upgrade then?

Thanks.

EDIT: When I say what settings will i be able to play it on i mean the game settings in HL2. obviously.
Click to expand...

the system itself looks great, it could run hl2 more than nice. no way to tell how it could run on the unreal3 engine though.

is the video card $323 US dollars? i dont know what the conversion rates for US is. but that seems a bit steep. im guessing its the 256 bit version. still though, thats kinda high considering you can get a 256 bit 9800 pro 128 for around $200 in the US.

the nf7-s has better onboard sound and serial ATA over the regular nf7, if none of these things concern you, id get the nf7.
 
How can i find out what kind of RAM i have? i highly doubt its pc3200, ifi still use it will it mess everything up? and if it will, will 512 MB RAM still be enough to run hl2 smoothly? I dont know what power supply i have, how do i figure that out? Also poseyjmac the video card is a radeon 9800 pro @ 128 MB and its $323.00 CANDIAN.

Sorry about all the questions but I really want to make sure i have a good system here.

You can check out the place im getting my parts at if u want www.compu-best.com

And Warbie, you said an athlon 64 will save from upgrading sooner i could do that because at this place im getting it at an athlon 64 3000+ is $7.00 more than the XP3200. Is the athlon 64 3000+ better than the xp 3200?
 
Darkknighttt said:
How can i find out what kind of RAM i have? i highly doubt its pc3200, ifi still use it will it mess everything up? and if it will, will 512 MB RAM still be enough to run hl2 smoothly? I dont know what power supply i have, how do i figure that out? Also poseyjmac the video card is a radeon 9800 pro @ 128 MB and its $323.00 CANDIAN.

Sorry about all the questions but I really want to make sure i have a good system here.
Click to expand...


Does your ram have anything written on it? maybe a sticker?? It could be sdram - in that case it wouldn't work the motherboard. It sounds very likely that this ram will be no good to you.

512 should be enough - but a gig should result in a smoother, more steady frame rate (which is as important as a high one imo) Stick with 512 for now - if the games run well then it's all good :)

Have a look at your psu - what is writen on it? Is it from an old pc?
 
512 will suffice. If you can afford a gig, go for it.

your power supply must be at least 250W, so you might need to upgrade. As for the ram i haven't a clue.
 
so $236 US for that card. if its the 256-bit version, then thats an ok deal, if its not, i would shop elsewhere for the video card.

keep in mind if you do get the athlon 64 3000+(which is faster than the 3200xp regular), you will need a different motherboard than the nf7.
 
Warbie said:
512 should be enough - but a gig should result in a smoother, more steady frame rate (which is as important as a high one imo) Stick with 512 for now - if the games run well then it's all good :)

what game can this be tested on? the only thing ive noticed about more RAM is better load times and less initial framerate lag when you look around.(ala battlefield 1942) which lasts for a few seconds at most with 512 ram. but i dont see how a gig of ram can help you AFTER that, once everything loads its up so the cpu and vid card make calculations.

though if there is some benchmark that can prove me wrong, i would like that.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
poseyjmac said:
so $236 US for that card. if its the 256-bit version, then thats an ok deal, if its not, i would shop elsewhere for the video card.

keep in mind if you do get the athlon 64 3000+(which is faster than the 3200xp regular), you will need a different motherboard than the nf7.
Click to expand...

I will definetly then get the athlon 64 3000(because i dont want to upgrade for a while.) what kind of motherboard do i need for it?!


Also where can i find the power supply, does it say anything in windows?
 
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